Fence lifter



Feb. 17, 1959 J.'N. HEFFERNAN ETAL 2,873,951

FENCE LIFTER,

Filed April 19, 1957 VV//fo/c/ Heffernan INVENTORS /7 'BY www QMATTO/Q/VEVJ UnitedStates Patent() 2,813,951 FENCE LIFTER .lohn N.Heffernan and Wilford P. Heffernan, Angleton, Tex.,' ass1gnors to TheHydrofence Corporatioma corporation of Texas Application April 19, 1951,serial No. 653,932

4 claims. (ci. :5s-25) v The present invention relates toa constructionand arrangement `for lifting a fence togan access therebcneath.

It is `extremely dicult to maintain a neat appearance of a 'grasscovered yard which is surrounded by a fence.

Variousk devices such as edgers and the like have been gainedytherebeneath for cutting of grass and weeds, land thereafter the fencelowered to itsoriginal position.

' Still a further object of the present invention 'is to` provide arelatively simple construction, yet one which is efficient in itsoperation, for accomplishing the ydesired result of raising a ,fencewith a minimum of efforts so that the grass and weeds may be -cuttherebeneath, and thereafter which fence may be lowered to its originalposition Vuntil reactivated.

Still a furtherv object of the present invention is` to provide ahydraulic arrangement for lifting Va fence so that the fence can beraised a suitable height to pass a mower or the like thereunder forAcutting v vveedsyor grass beneath the fence, which construction permitsthe fence to thereafter-seek its-original 'positionirelative to theground.

fYet-ajfurther object of the present invention .is to utilize thecomponents of a fence as fluid conductors for supplying the fluid to thefence post in a predetermined manner so that the fence supported by thepost and the connecting rods between thepost may be raised for gainingaccess therebeneath to cut grass and weeds.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent from a consideration of the 'following description anddrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 represents a schematic illustration showing a fence enclosing ayard;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating oneembodiment of the present invention, and showing the fence post memberspositioned vertically or relative to the ground and in movable relationrelative to each other so that the fence is supported thereon and by theconnecting rods between the fence post may be moved by uid pressuresupplied to the fence post;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the upper part of the fence post andconnecting rods, which view is partly in section to illustrate analternate embodiment of the seal means arrangement in the fence post;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the lower end of a fence postconstruction, showing still another modification of a seal means whichmay be used in accomplishing the results of the present invention; and,

2 Fig.l.v5 is a top plan view showing the manner v of vconstruction atthe corner of the fence. 3

Attention is directed to Fig. .1 wherein the fence generallydesignated'by the numeral Z 4is illustrated vas including a plurality offence posts 3 which are arranged at suitably spaced intervals, dependingupon the type fence and the height thereof. The fence posts areinterconnected by means of at least one rod `4 which is ar rangedadjacent the topy of the fence vand *extends substantially horizontallyrelative to the vertical fence post 3. This relationship is more clearlyillustrated in Fig. 2 where-in the connecting rods 4 are illustrated asbeing in the form of hollowy tubular members 5 which'are secured by anysuitable means such as the threadedv connections '6, into the Tconnection 7, which also is provided with an opening as illustrated at 8for engagement with the ffence post illustrated at 3.V The rod 4 isconnected into the other side of the T by means of the threadedconnection 8 which is in all respects similar tothe threaded connection6, and thus the rods 4 are interconnected with each of the fence posts,'and in the ,formillustrated in the present invention, such rods formconduits for a purposevto be more particularly described hereinafter.

The fence post 3 includes the movable cylinder member 9 and ,thestationary piston member 10 ywhich are arranged in telescoping relationrelative to each other to accommodate relative movement therebetween.Additionally seal means as illustrated generally at 11 in Fig. 2 areprovided which engage between the telescoping cylinder member 9 andpiston lil to aid in accomplishing` the vfunction of the vpresentinvention.

Suitable means such'as a rubber hose (not shown)A or the like may be.connected to a 'hydrantor water faucet in the yard. and in turn securedtothe conduit-5 as shown in Fig. 2 so as to supply fluid such aswater'under pressure thereto. When .the water passesalong therne'mber 4toA each' of the'fence posts 3, such water willr act against the sealmeans 11 in each'of the fence posts and thereby effect relativemovement-between the telescoping members 9 fand 10, This will'cause 'themembers f4 and 9l to move upwardly relative tothe stationary member 10so that access may be `had beneath the vfe-nce'ror cutting of grass andweeds. In vorder to prevent' the members 9 and ,10 from movingcompletelyout of telescoping relation, suitable 'means such as the chainy13 may be provided which'isengaged fas illustrated lat14 to the member9 and at 15 to the member 10 to limit v l the bolt 16 to the member 10which is secured or lixed in the ground by any suitable means such ascement or the like as illustrated at 17.

If desired the seal means 11 may assume the form illustrated at 111 inFig. 3 wherein a lip type of seal ring is shown as being mounted in thexed member 10, which lluid type seal 111 serves the same purpose infunction as the cup type ud seal 11 of the Fig. 2 modification.

Still another modification of the uid seal arrangement is illustrated inFig. 4 wherein an 0 ring 211 is illustrated as being mounted in thegroove 20 on the movable member 9. The function and operation of theseal arrangement illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that as previouslydescribed with regards to the seal arrangement shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Regardless of which form of the invention illustrated,

whether it is the modification illustrated in Fig. 2, or that shown inFig. 3, or that shown in Fig-4, when fluid, such as water,A is passedthrough the horizontal connecting rod 4 to each of the spaced verticallyextending fencer posts 3, the vfiuidpressure is prevented from escapingthrough the fence posts by means of the seal 11 in Fig. 2, the seal 111in Fig. 3, and the seal 211 in Fig. 4 modication. Thus .verticalrelative movement between the telescoping members 9 and 10 is effectedso as to raise the fence supported on the connecting rods 4 and thevertical fence posts 3.

As previously mentioned it will be noted that the seal means in theFigs. 2 and 3 modifications is mounted or positioned in the stationarymember 10 and is adapted to engage the movable member 9, whereas in theFig. 4 modification the seal means 211 is mounted in the movable member9 and is adapted to slide along the fixed member 10. However the Fig. 2modification, differs further from the Figs. 3 and 4 modifications inthat in the Fig. 2 modification the fixed member 10 is related to themovable member 9, so that the movable member 9 surrounds the fixedmember 10. In some circumstances it may -be more desirable to provide anlarrangement wherein the movable member 9 is positioned within the fixedmember 10 as shown in the Figs. 3 and 4 modifications. The function ofthe invention is the same in either arrangement, however in certaincircumstances such as where the growth of the underbrush -around thefence is rapid, it may be more desirable to provide an arrangement asthat illustrated in Fig. 3 or 4, so that movement of the telescopingmembers will not become fouled by the growth of the underbrush adjacentthe fence.

In Fig. 5 it will be noted that the members 4, which have been describedherein as comprising hollow tubular members 5, are connected into anelbowas illustrated at 25. The elbow is further modified in that it isprovided With a threaded connection as illustrated at 26 sothat it mayreceive a fence post 3 therebeneath (not shown).

The present invention is particularly adaptable to use in homes where afence of the cyclone or hurricane variety is provided. However, theinvention may be applied with equal elect to any type fence providedthat the water, or uid pressure, for raising the fence is suiicient.

Additionally, the invention has further advantage in that it provides arelatively simple arrangement which may be mounted on fences that arealready in existence with a minimum of modification. v Of course, theprimary advantage of the device after it has been positioned on thefence, is that it permits the fence to be raised in situ, so that growtharound and immediately beneath the fence may be eliminated withoutmoving the fence laterally. After the fence has been raised and thegrowth cut, the water pressure can be cut of and the fence will moveback to its original position adjacent the ground.

The present invention has been found completely satisfactory in use andit provides a novel economical manner of raising a fence with a minimumamount of effort and expenditure.

Broadly the invention relates to a construction and arrangement forraising a fence vertically relative to the ground whereby growththerebeneath may be cut, whereafter the fence may be lowered to itsoriginal position relative to the earths sur-face.

What is claimed is: j

1. A hydraulically operated fence including at least one fence postextending upwardly from the ground, said fence post vincluding La pistonmember mounted in the ground and extending upwardly therefrom, a movablecylinder telescopically mounted onv said piston member, seal meanssealing between said cylinder and piston and a conduit attached adjacentthe upper end of said cylinder whereby fluid pressure may be supplied tosaid conduit and to said cylinder for moving said cylinder rela-l tiveto said piston member to lift the fence.

2. A hydraulically operated fence including a plurality of spaced fenceposts extending upwardly from the ground, said fence posts including apiston member mounted in the ground, `a movable cylinder telescopicallymounted on said piston member, seal means sealing between said cylinderand piston, and a conduit attached adjacent the upper end of saidcylinder whereby fluid pressure may be supplied to said conduit and tosaid cylinder for moving said cylinder relative to said piston member tolift the fence.

3. The combination recited in claim 1 including means secured to saidcylinder means adjacent its end and to the adjacent end of said pistonmember to limit the movement between said cylinder land said pistonmember.

4. The combination recited in claim 2 including means secured to saidcylinder means adjacent its end and to the adjacent end of said pistonmember to limit the move-v ment between said cylinder and said pistonmember.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

